Page 342 - ILIAS ATHANASIADIS AKA RO1

As long as everybody believes in the same fictions, we all obey the same laws,
and can thereby cooperate effectively.

So if you blame Facebook, Trump or Putin for ushering in a new and frightening

era of post-truth, remind yourself that centuries ago millions of Christians
locked themselves inside a self-reinforcing mythological bubble.

Never daring to question the factual veracity of the Bible, while millions of

Muslims put their unquestioning faith in the Qur’an.

For millennia, much of what passed for “news” and “facts” in human social
networks were stories about miracles, angels, demons and witches, with bold

reporters giving live coverage straight from the deepest pits of the underworld.

We have zero scientific evidence that Eve was tempted by the serpent, that the
souls of all infidels burn in hell after they die, or that the creator of the universe

doesn’t like it when a Brahmin marries an Untouchable

– yet billions of people have believed in these stories for thousands of years.
Some fake news lasts for ever.

I am aware that many people might be upset by my equating religion with fake

news, but that’s exactly the point. When a thousand people believe some made-
up story for one month, that’s fake news.

When a billion people believe it for a thousand years, that’s a religion, and we

are admonished not to call it fake news in order not to hurt the feelings of the
faithful (or incur their wrath).

Note, however, that I am not denying the effectiveness or potential benevolence

of religion. Just the opposite. For better or worse, fiction is among the most
effective tools in humanity’s toolkit.

By bringing people together, religious creeds make large-scale human
cooperation possible. They inspire people to build hospitals, schools and bridges

in addition to armies and prisons. Adam and Eve never existed, but Chartres
Cathedral is still beautiful.